Tourism businesses in the North Pennines are being offered a chance to learn more about digital marketing at this year’s Tourism Forum.
The event will be held in Blanchland in Northumberland on Thursday 2 May and is open to any business working in the visitor economy in or around the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and UNESCO Global Geopark.
The theme for the forum is Digital Landscapes: developing, integrating and interacting and the keynote speaker is Susan Briggs who will discuss digital marketing for microbusinesses. Susan, who runs Tourism Knowhow based in Masham, North Yorkshire, has been working in tourism marketing for over 30 years and has helped in excess of 7,500 businesses to attract visitors and become more profitable. She will also run two practical skills sessions, helping businesses to embrace blogging and to understand the intricacies of Google.
There will be an opportunity to hear North East Businesswoman of the Year, Allison Raper from Teesdale Cheesemakers, talk about how digital has helped her business.
Delegates will be able to put their own questions to a digital marketing panel and will also learn how digital approaches can help to develop the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and UNESCO Global Geopark as a tourism destination.
Shane Harris, Responsible Tourism Lead for the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “The marketing landscape has dramatically changed over the last five years – the days of being able to rely only on print and other traditional channels is past. Tourism businesses will increasingly need to embrace this new world to reach potential visitors. But we know that over 80% of tourism businesses in the North Pennines are small – employing five people or less – so they’re short of time to devote to marketing. Our forum this year is designed to help with some practical, cost-effective, advice to get you started on your digital journey.”
Thursday 2 May 2019: 10am to 2.30pm (arrival, registration, tea/coffee from 9.30am)
Blanchland Village Hall, £10 attendance cost (includes lunch and refreshments). Booking is essential:www.ticketsource.co.uk/northpennines
